“HUMAN RIGHTS” A TOOL OF WESTERN POWER, A POST-COLONIAL CRITIQUE. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PALESTINE AND UKRAINE CASES

Abstract

The discourse surrounding “Universal Human Rights” as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is subjected to post-colonial deconstruction. It refers that the regime upholds western dominance rather than a vehicle for global justice. This paper advances the central thesis that how human rights framework operates as a form of neo imperial control that is used by powerful states to secure geopolitical, economic and cultural influence under the guise of moral responsibility. The study traces how the UDHR emerged from enlightenment-era thought and reflected Western philosophies while it excluded non-Western perspectives such as African, Islamic and Chinese traditions. Drawing on the works of Edward Said, Frantz Fanon and Noam Chomsky, it highlights how human rights discourse is applied selectively to justify interventions or sanctions against rivals like Russia and China while how it overlooked violations such as Israel and Saudi Arabia. Using the contrasting cases of Palestine and Ukraine, the paper exposes the double standard in practice. The western response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict through sanctions, military aid and international outrage shows a sharp contrast to decades of silence and unconditional support for Israel despite the ongoing human rights violations in Palestine. This imbalance reveals that the inconsistency in human rights enforcement is not accidental but deliberate as it holds a system that is designed to serve western interests behind the moral façade of universalism